At our Internal Medicine program here in Baton Rouge, we firmly believe that academic excellence does not have to come at the expense of ones’ own health and wellness. In fact, we believe that prioritizing physician well-being in turn improves patient care, personal relationships, and the LSUHSC community as a whole. We remain dedicated to helping our residents and faculty excel on a professional level while also maintaining balance on a personal level.

Within our curriculum, dedicated time during morning report and embedded programs such as Narrative Medicine create a space in which residents engage in frequent personal reflection and open discussions about the challenges of their profession.
In these forums, both faculty and residents engage in meaningful dialogue about maintaining well-being and work-life balance while maximizing growth and human and professional development. 

Within our program, we have multiple embedded layers of support for residents as they face the challenges that residency presents. In addition to the open-door policy employed by our chief residents, faculty, and program director, each resident is assigned to a faculty mentor with whom they meet regularly. We also recognize that autonomy and empowerment is a valuable component of physician wellness. Through involvement in groups such as the resident council, trainees can remain engaged in active feedback and opportunities to continue to inform and improve the educational experience here at LSUHSC. 

The Campus Assistance Program is resource that we make available to our trainees and staff. This program is a free service that exists to support the mental, emotional and physical wellbeing of residents, students, faculty, staff and immediate family members in order to promote the overall health and effectiveness of the LSUHSC community. Additional resources and materials are also available through the Accreditation Council on Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) AWARE platform.